Mail Call - May 18

May 18, 2012

“Local teen title holder says pageants focus more on brains, less on being pretty. She’s Miss Washington County Teen. I will believe that when I see a very plain or a handicapped teen chosen as Miss Anything.”— Washington County

“I think it’s just unbelievable that here in America, we have people losing their homes, no jobs, and most of all, poor little kids starving to death, no food, no money, the parents, but there can be a one dinner raising money for a political president for $15 million. If you can have one dinner and raise $15 million for politics, why can’t you raise $15 million to help people save their homes, help poor little children?”— Smithsburg

“I am calling in about somebody cleaning up underneath the arches in Williamsport, at the bridge. It is a terrible sight. I wish the mayor would soon clean it up because I go over there all the time and it is a terrible sight. Nobody does anything to it.”— Falling Waters, W.Va.

“This call concerns Edgewood Drive, coming out of Funkstown. The city of Hagerstown did a nice job of paving Edgewood Drive to the city line. Now one of the governing bodies needs to redo Edgewood from Baltimore Street in Funkstown out to Stouffer Avenue. That portion of road is in very bad shape.”— Hagerstown

“You know, I think during the campaign of Republicans, they were stating don’t bring the family into it, keep them out of our politics, don’t talk about our families. And what, lo and behold, here I turn on the TV today, here Mitt Romney has his wife on this commercial ... and I don’t understand. He’s got her in a commercial against President Obama, so evidently he decided to bring the family in on it.”— Hagerstown

“What’s wrong with this picture? Isn’t it amazing that when President Obama ‘officially starts campaigning’ for the election, now the gas prices are coming down? Do the powers that be think we are a bunch of dummies? I think not. Don’t be taken in by Obama’s innuendoes or believe everything he says. After almost four years, he still blames his mistakes on Bush. He isn’t man enough to admit his mistakes. We don’t need a president who won’t step up to the plate and do what’s right.”— Williamsport

“To the person who says you have no right to complain about politicians if you don’t vote: That’s nonsense. Whoever is elected represents all the people, not just the ones who voted. I never voted for my neighbors and their dogs, but I’m going to complain about them. I do vote, and I think everyone should vote.”— Waynesboro, Pa.

“I am retired, I was never a union member and didn’t want to be, but I worked for a company that had a union labor force. There is no question that the union benefited me, as my wages and benefits were based on theirs. I think this is true wherever a union is present, and everyone in the company up through middle management benefits. The Republican Party would like for all unions to go away for the benefit of big companies, and see all workers, not just unions, take the hit.”— Greencastle, Pa.

“I see where Major League Baseball wants to stop the faked throw to third and then throw to first. I also think they should also stop the infield shifts on mainly left-handed pull hitters. It’s a disadvantage to the batter to have defensive players out of position so as to make it harder for them to get a hit.”— Halfway area

“The difference between tax-and-spend Democrats and tax-and-spend Republicans is the Democrats tax the rich and spend on the poor, and the Republicans tax the poor and spend on the rich.”— Rohrersville

“Please explain to me what the weekly job totals mean. It seems like most weeks lately, around 350,000 workers have signed up for first-time unemployment benefits. Most of these weeks, around 130,000 new jobs are reported as being created. Doing simple math, to me that means the 220,000 more people lost jobs than picked up new jobs that week. But yet the politicians tout the millions of jobs created. In the last several years I have yet to see a week where jobs created were higher than the new sign-ups for unemployment. I’m not a Harvard grad, so what am I missing?”— Warfordsburg, Pa.

“To the person who does not like their Social Security called an entitlement: When will we learn we can not trust a politician? What happened to the tax on hotels to pay for a new stadium? Where and what are they doing with the tax to save the bay from septic tanks? All this ... is to get more money to fund projects nobody wants.”— South Hagerstown

“On page A6 of the May 10 paper today, in the item of ‘Obama voices support for gay marriage,’ O’Malley said in a statement Wednesday that Marylanders agree with the president. Well, I don’t think that he should conclude all Marylanders, because I for one am definitely against it. I’m a Christian, I don’t believe in it, and I don’t feel that the governor has any right. A referendum will finish this out in November.”— Williamsport

“What has happened to the medical profession? It’s sad to say that due to losing her job and not having insurance, my friend’s primary care physician of 23-plus years has discharged her as a patient, even though her account is paid up. She was advised to find another primary care physician to help her, in her time of need. How can these doctors sleep at night, knowing they have chosen money over a patient’s well-being?”— Washington County

“Concerning people on their cellphones, the only way people are going to stop talking on their cellphones while driving is whenever they become involved in a serious accident. Then only will they come to their senses. ... I see people — women, especially, driving around with their children in the vehicle, and they’re talking on their cellphone.”— Greencastle, Pa.

“In response to the person who doesn’t like seeing crosses and flowers and pictures on sites where people have been killed, apparently you haven’t had a tragedy in your family. Sometimes that’s the only thing that gives the person a little relief. And anyway, you don’t have to look.”— Hagerstown

“Falling Waters caller, I’ve often seen small, bruised, etc., produce sold at a discount at grocery stores and local farmers markets. So contrary to your claim, people, including me — I find it tastes just fine, and I’ve been told lots of people buy it to freeze or can — do buy such produce. Perhaps it isn’t available in your area. Could this be due to health department regulations? But anyway, it certainly is here. So don’t assume the wasteful practice you condemn is universal.”— Frederick, Md.

“I’m calling about the upcoming election for city council. I wonder why people wanted to vote for Aleshire. He deserted the city council and went for the county commissioners. He lost the election for county commissioner, now he’s back with the city. He was also negative toward the city when he was a county commissioner. Now ... and Penny Nigh, I don’t understand why we’d vote for her. She had her chance, she lost. She should let it go. Let someone else have a turn.”— Hagerstown

“Washington County definitely needs a leash law. Ninety-nine percent of the people in my neighborhood already do walk their dog on a leash. Of course, there is always at least one exception. One manages to continually walk his dog without a leash. Twice now, that dog has aggressively come into my yard and startled me. I have also seen the dog enter in other yards, after other people and other dogs. I have expressed concern. I guess people have to be forced to have common sense.”— Hagerstown